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Comment by jlpom | Hacker News Reader

I don't know the usage stats, but I think the app/website ratio is nowhere near the one of facebook. Some probable reasons for this (unbacked) claim:

1) Long sessions are more suitable on a laptop/desktop than on a smartphone (the average session time is ~15mn).

2) There is still a nerdy userbase (mostly early users) who prefer to use the website with all the features.

3) The app is relatively recent (April 2016 vs 2012 for Facebook).

4) The official app is not really good IMO (e.g. scrolling is laggy and the UI could be better).

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Nobody uses the official reddit apps. I've been using third party reddit apps (which are amazing) since 2010 (Galaxy S1).

Well I use the official app. I tried redditisfun but it was pretty much the same. Do you suggest any other app?

Relay is quite good, I have (shamefully) used it for hour-long browsing sessions.

I'll second this. I've tried other ones but I always end up coming back to Relay.

RedReader is great and open source.

Apollo is brilliant for iOS users.

https://apolloapp.io/

Been using it since release and I don't use the Reddit website directly now except to give gold.

On android, previously I used RedReader but I have since switched to Slide https://github.com/ccrama/Slide/ (available on Fdroid).

It has a nice UI and a lot of neat features.

Check out Sync for reddit for Android [0] and iOS (Beta) [1]

[0] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.laurenceda...

[1] https://www.reddit.com/r/sync_ios/

They push it on their mobile site to anyone who visits, so I wouldn't say "nobody". I use it

Well, I would say that your #1 reason is quite untrue. I can't speak for everyone, but I rarely browse Reddit on a computer. The only reason to do so is because I want to write a long response. Normally I'm browsing from an app so I can lay on the couch and watch TV while I'm doing it.

#2 could be true, but it might not be.

Regarding the apps, I paid for BaconReader on Android over 6 years ago and still use it. It works fine for me. I have no desire to switch to the official app.

As a moderator of a decent-sized subreddit, the number of people who complain they weren't aware of our rules because they use a mobile client (that makes it impossible to view the sidebar, where the rules are mentioned) suggests to me there's a ton of mobile users you're discounting.

Re: 3)

Official app on iOS used to be a third party app called Alien Blue. Reddit basically purchased it, re-branded it as official, and viola. On iOS it had tons of usage prior to that. Incidentally after the rebranding is when I stopped using it and moved to Apollo.

Reddit acquired AlienBlue and re-released the client as their official app in 2014.

People who visit reddit regualry have most probably some client on their mobile.

You're just pulling these points out of thin air.

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